| Dated: Aug. 01/98 |
5. Worship
What is more prominent in the Christian world than the worship service? People who have no other association whatever with a church attend a worship service on Sunday. Sunday has been set aside as a day of worship. It is the Sabbath, day of resting from the work of the world. Until recently many retail businesses were not allowed to be open on Sunday.
Most of us cannot deny, however, that we have sometimes gone to church on Sunday out of a sense of obligation. Even though we did not necessarily feel in a mood to worship, we attended church. When we have gone to church in this frame of mind, we have learned that it is not likely we will experience any great spiritual uplift. All of us have either had the experience of falling asleep in church or have observed another who did.
Perhaps we have gone to church out of a sense of responsibility to others - children in our family for whom we wanted to set a good “example”; a parent who insisted. We have learned that to enter into a worship service simply because of a sense of duty is hardly conducive to a major spiritual experience.
There are also persons - perhaps you have been one of them - who attend the Sunday worship service under a sense of duress. These are the persons who really do not want to attend, but do so because of the persuasion (often not gentle) of a loved one. A person attending church to make someone else happy is unlikely to get much out of the service itself, and he or she may even detract from the worship experience of others.
There are those of us who attend Sunday worship services simply so that we can be with other people. Many lonely persons in the world have no social contacts other than through their churches. These are often older persons. Church attendance represents for them a respite from their loneliness, and it is obviously a beneficial practice. In many instances, the constructive social experience of attending church is a spiritual experience as well.
Other persons go to church for selfish reasons. I have known persons who were running for political office who went to church to solicit votes. Businessmen sometimes make business contacts before or after church services and attend strictly for that reason. I once knew a physician who told me he built up his medical practice through contacts he made in church. There are those who feel that being seen in church is just plain good for their community image. If political and business reasons are the only motivations for attending church, spiritual benefits can hardly be achieved.
Sometimes there are people who go to church just to get away from home. I have known persons who have gone to church simply to have an hour away from screaming children and/or a nagging spouse. These persons often do have a good spiritual experience at church, because they find the peace and harmony they have sought. However, if the desire is only to escape from something, rather than to enter into something spiritual, the benefits of a one-hour Sunday retreat will be limited.
Some persons don’t go to church at all. Some of them completely ignore the worship experience in their lives. Others have private and intense worship experiences. Others “attend church” via television or radio. Sunday-morning broadcast schedules on television and radio are filled with religious programs that originate from all parts of the country. Those who watch these programs can find them fulfilling if they truly enter into the spirit of worship.
And, of course, there are those who attend church and become mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically involved in the worship service. The sermon or lesson, the instructional part of the service, helps them to know how to live a more positive and productive life. The prayers or meditations, the experimental part of the service, enable them to feel the presence of God. This feeling can be carried over into everyday living and be of great value.
The dictionary says that to worship is “to feel extreme adoration or devotion”. In this definition the word feel is important. In the true worship experience, feeling is the essence. What you feel becomes part of you; it builds into your nature. It is reflected in your life. It becomes a quality of your character. It is the light that shines through you.
The alternative here is not necessarily a substitute, but it could be. This is something you do in addition to your Sunday worship experience: it is worship on a daily basis. This worship occurs at any time and in any place that you feel adoration for and devotion to God.
This worship experience is not something that must be experienced in a church. Worship on a daily basis can be done at any place, any time. You may have a sacred and important place in your home - a place where you can become quiet and feel the presence of God. If this is the case, that place becomes your special altar, no matter how commonplace or ordinary it may appear to be.
Nature provides us with many inspiring and natural “altars”. The things of nature often remind us of the attributes of God. We can look at a soaring mountain peak and think of it as a majestic altar. The calm waters of a placid lake can put us in the mood for worship. A quiet glen provides a gentle setting for worship. The places and times of worship are endless.
The important thing to remember is the alternative - that is, worship does not have to be limited to attending church; and it should not be. Letting your spirit soar in a sense of adoration and devotion to God should not be just a weekly experience. It can occur almost constantly. It could be called “practicing the presence of God”. The quality of life derived from such experiences is indeed great beyond our wildest expectations.
The true worship experience will improve our lives, but it will not make of us “goody-goodies”. Rather, it will cause us to be effervescent persons; persons with the magnetism to attract interesting friends into our lives; persons with a certain glow about us, which will make others want to be around us. Our minds will be filled with new, exciting ideas. Our bodies will be energized with the realization of God’s life in them. Our hearts will brim with love, and we will live in a world of peace and harmony.
These are the benefits that will accrue when you exercise your alternative to worship constantly!
This item is an excerpt from the book "Alternatives" by William L. Fisher, and reproduced with the express permission of Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, MO.
6. Baptism
Water baptism has become an important part of the Christian practice. Some churches teach that there is no possibility of being “saved” unless baptism is experienced. There is controversy about how baptism should be experienced. There is controversy about how baptism should be administered. The religious groups that use immersion feel that anything less than the total immersion is ineffective. In the architecture of these churches, the baptismal is a central and important part, usually featured in a prominent place. The immersionists also do baptisms in outdoor, natural settings - usually at a riverbank. The washing away of sins is believed to be accomplished with the symbolic total immersion.
The non-immersionists sprinkle water onto those who are being baptized. They believe total immersion is unnecessary, reasoning that the actual act of baptism is symbolic and that the symbolism need not be carried to extremes.
This differentiation is so pronounced that in the military chaplaincy program there are two categories: immersionist and non-immersionist.
Closely associated with baptism is the Christian concept of being born again. The born-again doctrine apparently originated with the nighttime encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus came to Jesus and acknowledged that surely Jesus was a teacher who came from God. Jesus answered him,”Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
The controversy lies within the question: What really constitutes being born again?
Nicodemus was totally baffled about the statement. He asked Jesus how this could be done. He wondered if a man could “enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Spiritual rebirth is still a matter of question.
There are teachers that teach that an individual must come to the altar, accept Jesus Christ as his or her personal savior, and be baptized (either by immersion or sprinkling) in order to be born again. Other churches teach that a profession of faith accomplishes the task. Many churches do not emphasize the concept at all.
Because Jesus Christ Himself experienced water baptism at the hands of John the Baptist, many Christians feel that it is a necessary part of the ultimate Christian experience. Do you not, however, find it interesting to note that after Jesus’ experience with John, to the best of our knowledge, He Himself never employed water baptism for anyone else? From this, we must conclude that He did not feel that this kind of baptism was necessary. Herein lies the baptism alternative.
In our consideration of this subject, we need to explore the method Jesus employed instead of water. The Gospel of John gives insight. “Jesus said to them again,’Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so send I you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them,’Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
This has generally been accepted as the baptism of Jesus’ disciples. It is called spiritual or Holy Spirit baptism. This is the alternative:
Rather than being a ritual or ceremony formally endorsed by the church and administered by it, baptism can be understood as an intrinsically personal experience that occurs within us. In its deepest sense, baptism is a prayer experience with Spirit, an ultimate dialogue between an individual and God.
There are two basic reasons for baptism. One is for the dedication of a life of spiritual ideals. This is the thought behind the baptism of children. The other reason is for cleansing or purification. With the adult, both of these purposes should be kept in mind during the prayer experience that results in spiritual baptism. As with all prayer, it is a mental process.
Let us first consider the idea of purification. This is what is implied in Jesus’ comment that we need to be born of water. To be born of water is to remove from our consciousness the impurities of negation. We do this through the prayer-process called denial. Denial is the means by which we mentally, emotionally, and verbally refuse to allow anything that would impeded our spiritual growth to remain in our minds. As long as such negation remains, we cannot have the spiritual experience of true baptism.
Jesus also spoke of the necessity of being born of the spirit. This means that it is necessary to instill spiritual qualities into our consciousness to such an extent that they are automatically reflected in our lives. The way we do this is through the prayer-process called affirmation. In affirmation we declare for ourselves the establishment of great ideals. By a process known as the “law of mind action”, these mind-ideals become qualities of character. Thus, the change is affected in our lives.
This means that, whatever we were previously, we have become something new. In a real sense, we are born again. We are born into a new and heightened self, which is the objective of baptism and spiritual rebirth.
This becomes your alternative to consider concerning baptism: The baptism of water was that of John. Jesus’ method was spiritual baptism. “For John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit....You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”.
Spiritual Baptism, that of Jesus Christ, is a time of becoming very quiet within yourself and being at peace with God. Deny negation. Do not allow any of it to take residence in your mind. Affirm the Truth. Know that your mind is the habitat of productive goodness. Let your mind be filled with the beauty and glory of God’s Spirit within you. Then you will be reborn into a new and exciting life.
This item is an excerpt from the book "Alternatives" by William L. Fisher, and reproduced with the express permission of Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, MO.
7. Communion
It would seem that the rite of Holy Communion (the Lord’s Supper) is one of the most common doctrinal controversies in the church. How communion should be administered has long been a controversial issue. For centuries the church has been bickering about whether mixed or unmixed wine should be served, whether leavened or unleavened bread should be broken. There have been debates as to whether people should sit down, stand up, or kneel when partaking of the sacraments.
Then there are questions as to who should be admitted to the feast of Holy Communion and how often it should be prepared. In the Roman Catholic Church infants were at one time permitted to partake and later forbidden. Since the Ninth Century the laity has received only the bread; the cup has been reserved for the priesthood. Only recently have there been some minor modifications in this practice.
In the Fourth Lateral Council, it was decreed that any believer should communicate at least one time each year, at Easter. Later it was determined that this sacrament should be received three times a year - Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas.
But perhaps the main controversies regard the nature of communion. One of these has been the authenticity of the theory of transubstantiation - that is, whether or not the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ, as some churches say they do. In the Church of England the archbishops were divided into three schools of thought. One school thought communion was a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. Another thought that it was not a sacrifice, but a sacrificial feast. And the third of these said it was neither a sacrifice nor a sacrificial feast, but a simple commemoration. The Quakers have, in the last several hundred years, stopped observing the rite at all.
At the meeting of the World Council of Churches in Evaston, Illinois, in 1950, a committee was set up to study ways in which a common practice of partaking of communion could be established. This committee was to work on the problem and report in ten years. At this time writing (mid-1979) no acceptable plan has evolved.
With all this confusion about how Holy Communion should be observed and experienced, perhaps it is time to look at an alternative consideration. It is doubtful that Jesus intended to establish an institution for perpetual observance when He ate the Passover feast with His disciples. Communion, as it is commonly observed, is not a part of the religion of Jesus Christ; rather, it is part of the religion about Him.
We would do well to recall the words of the Apostle Paul,”The kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”.
The account of the Last Supper of Jesus and His disciples is given by all four gospel writers. The Gospel of Matthew records the words of Jesus Christ as He gave bread and wine to His disciples. But no expression implies that this feast was to be commemorated thereafter. In the Gospel of Mark, the same words are recorded with still no intimation that the occasion was to be made into a ceremony. Luke, after relating the breaking of the bread, has these words,”Do this in remembrance of me”. In John’s gospel, although other occurrences of the same evening are related, this entire transaction is passed over without notice.
What did the expression,”Do this in remembrance of me”, really signify? It was an affectionate expression. Jesus Christ was a Jew, sitting with His countrymen, observing their national feast. Perhaps He thought of His own impending crucifixion and wished to prepare the minds of His disciples for what was to come. In effect, this is what He said to them:”When hereafter you observe the Passover, it will have an altered aspect in your eyes. Think of me when, in times to come, you observe the Passover together again”.
On this occasion, Jesus was doing what the master of every household in Jerusalem was doing at the same hour. It was the custom for the master of the household to break the bread and bless it with the words,”Blessed be Thou, O Lord, our God, who gives us the fruit of the vine”. Jesus did refer to His body and blood on this occasion, but they were not extraordinary expressions for Him. He always taught by parables and symbols; remember He also said,”The flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life”.
Now what about the alternative? Lets consider the sacraments, in a deep sense. Wine represents blood, and blood represents life. Therefore, wine is symbolic of the Life of God coursing through our bodies. Bread represents the body of Christ, and this in turn is representative of divine substance. If the flesh profits nothing and the words are the important thing, why not observe communion by using our words in prayer? Since communion is concerned with the life and substance of God, then a real communion service is a prayer time when we appropriate more of divine life and substance in our lives.
This means that communion is a very personal thing; it does not necessarily have to be observed in a formal religious service. It can be done in the sanctity of our personal prayer place.
As you take time to have a real communion experience, you must become very still. In the dynamics of your silence, begin to think of the life and substance of God becoming more evident in every aspect of your life. Affirm for yourself that God’s life is a powerful, divine element flowing through you, strengthening and energizing your body. God’s life gives you a greater sense of service and a desire to be of greater benefit to others. In this rarefield consciousness of God working through you, you become more aware of His substance as evidenced in every respect of your life. This substance represents more of everything in life that is for your highest good. Your life is mightily blessed.
You know that symbols are not necessary when you are capable of touching the presence of God within you without the use of them.
This is your alternative regarding communion: Instead of the formality of a religious rite, communion can be a spiritual experience privately conducted between you and your God. This is a life-changing experience.
What could be more inspiring?
This item is an excerpt from the book "Alternatives" by William L. Fisher, and reproduced with the express permission of Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, MO.
8. Heaven
When I was a child a most vivid description of heaven was given to me. I was told that if I was good I would go to heaven after I died. When I arrived I would be met at the gates of pearl by none other than St. Peter himself. I would then be ushered to a personal audience with God. As near as I could determine, God would have an accounting sheet on me. He would carefully weigh the good things I had done against the bad. If the balance sheet was in my favor, I would gain admission into the kingdom of heaven.
Upon entering, I was told, I would be dazzled. The streets of heaven would be paved with gold. All the people would be angels. I was not told what all the angels would be doing to occupy themselves, other than harp-playing. Apparently, eternity would be spent either listening to or playing harp music.
I was also told that this kingdom was located somewhere in the sky. When I questioned where in the sky this location might be, no one could ever give me a clear answer. I was simply told that just as hell was “down”, heaven was “up”. This was my orientation concerning heaven. It was given to me not only in a serious manner, but as an absolute.
The thing that really bothered me about this was that the only way I could enjoy the ultimate ecstasy of God was by dying. I remember that I used to wish that there were some way to experience heaven without having to get old and die first. I even recall an old country-western song that said, in part,”Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die”.
How did we human beings come into this concept of heaven? It is a concept built altogether upon the “fact” that heaven is above. We usually think that what is above is higher in dignity that what is beneath; therefore, heaven must be somewhere above us! It was natural that our thinking should go in this direction.
Also, we find it unbearable to think that life ends in a grave. That seems to be such an unfitting finish for a person, even though it is only the person’s body that is buried. We want to think that some part of us lives on. We want to feel that the quality which we call life is so great that it cannot be limited to the relatively few years that most of us express on earth. We have a right to want to believe this.
But there is an alternative concept to the heaven traditionally taught, and this alternative is contained in the very words of Jesus Christ. Granted, it is written that when Jesus prayed, He lifted His eyes to heaven. But where did Jesus say heaven is located?
He was specific in this regard; He said,”The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and “The kingdom of God is in the midst of (within) you”. This is an exciting concept. It means that heaven is here and now. It is not something to be experienced only after the death of the body.
But if the kingdom of God is within us, what is it? The insight given to us by Charles Fillmore in the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary is this:”The kingdom of heaven, or of the heavens, is a state of consciousness in which the soul and the body are in harmony with Divine Mind”. This means that heaven is a state of consciousness in which we have so elevated our thoughts and feelings that they are in complete harmony with the Spirit of God within us. “Entering” the kingdom of heaven is an experience that any one of us can have here and now.
If it is true (and it is) that we are created in the image and likeness of God, then the Spirit of God dwells within us. Where God dwells, there is heaven. Therefore, logic tells us that heaven is within us. The kingdom of heaven in us is the estate of perfect spiritual consciousness. It is that part of us where the supreme qualities of Spirit lie in waiting - waiting for us to allow them to find expression through us. These are the qualities of perfect love, peace, joy, health, courage, and all other expressions that represent the truly spiritual life. But these qualities are dormant until we consent to express them in our personal, spiritual character. How is this done?
It is accomplished through prayer. There is a specific technique that consists of denial - the removal of mental obstructions so that we may pray an effectual prayer - and the use of affirmation - to consciously establish divine qualities in our consciousness. In addition to the verbal aspects of our prayer, there is the matter of attitude.
One of the attitudes that must be removed is doubt. If there is even a shadow of doubt in our minds that any one of these divine qualities can well up within us and find expression through us, it is not likely that we will be elevated to a heavenly state of consciousness. There must be total faith in order to have a total experience.
What then is the most important attitude to hold in order to lift our personal consciousness into a heavenly state? It is receptivity. We must be so receptive to the idea that God-qualities are coming to awareness in our personal consciousness that we find it impossible to harbor any doubt or fear to the contrary. Such an attitude may be called preparation of the individual consciousness for the advent of a personal experience of Spirit.
This spiritual experience is the sowing of the seed of divine ideas in the soil of our minds. Under the favorable climate of our attitude, these idea germinate; then they sprout and come into fruition. The fruit of this process is experience. Since the seeds planted are love, peace, joy, health, courage, and so forth, experiences in keeping with these qualities come into our lives. We begin to give and receive truly spiritual qualities of life.
So the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It is yours to enjoy now! It is a truly heavenly experience to have divine qualities evidenced in your life. You do not have to wait until you die to know heaven. It is yours to know and experience now ! This is what Jesus Christ wanted us to know.
This item is an excerpt from the book "Alternatives" by William L. Fisher, and reproduced with the express permission of Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, MO.
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